Daisy Hill vs Radcliffe. 12.07.23
Joe Marshall- @joemarshall_
Without a doubt, one of the most unique team names in non-league is Daisy Hill Football Club. The team play in the North West Counties Football League Division One North and have been around for nearly 130 years.
Located within the Westhoughton area that lies on the border of Bolton and Wigan, Daisy Hill is a village of just over 7000 people. We travelled there in the car, which took around 30 minutes from North Manchester in evening traffic. Being located in the residential belt that spans the boroughs of Bolton and Wigan, the village is accessible via public transport too, with Daisy Hill and Westhoughton stations nearby.
Arriving with over an hour to go until kick off, we contemplated what to do. A quick Google search didn’t reward us with many options for pubs in the local area, so we decided to be ultra keen and enter the New Sirs ground with plenty of time before the game began.
New Sirs
New Sirs is the historical home of football in Daisy Hill, with the team playing there since before World War One. Its main features don’t seem to have changed much in the years since, but this is by no means an insult, as it is one of the most charming grounds you could ever wish to visit.
A first time visitor would be forgiven for missing the entrance to this unassuming ground. Tucked away in a quiet housing estate on St. James Street, it almost feels like you are about to trespass onto someone’s driveway as you enter. Once you cautiously tiptoe down the small road leading into the car park at New Sirs, you are greeted with a charming and characterful welcome, with a beautifully old fashioned welcome sign that arches over an old entrance. Small touches like these are always a lovely addition to a ground, maintaining tradition is something which always stands out to me.
The turnstiles are perfect too, visually and aurally, with the noise of the metal gate letting you know that you’re entering an old-school ground. Once inside, you are greeted with the raffle ticket seller, with a bottle of Cava on offer for the winner on this occasion. The inside of the ground reflects the traditional aesthetics of the exterior. The main stand behind the goal has a corregated roof and features around 50 seats with views only slightly obstructed by poles. This stand is also the home of the impressive clubhouse. Beautifully adorned with old newspaper clippings, team photos and more, it excellently preserves the history of the club formed in 1894.
The only other covered stand is small with a low roof, located just before the halfway line on the near side of the ground. With the weather forecast pleasant, and turnout likely to be small, it was unlikely that it would be tested to the limits of capacity on this occasion, but even so, there would probably be only room for about 50 people inside it if required. The pitch was surrounded by traditional flaking non-league railing, with the access to the side opposite the dugouts blocked. The basic nature of the setup should not be looked down on however, as New Sirs oozes charm and tradition at every juncture.
As touched upon, New Sirs has a stunning clubhouse. It is spacious and decorated with love and care, and is bursting with tradition. The pictures on the walls take visitors on a journey through the history of Daisy Hill FC, and you could easily spend a lot of time taking it all in.
New Sirs Experience
The welcome that visitors receive at Daisy Hill is incredibly friendly. Without resorting too much to cliches, the people at the club are typical of the region, and exude the kind of openness and warmth that you would expect.
There were no programmes on offer on this occasion with it being just a friendly, but there was a huge selection of old editions in the clubhouse. With it being my third visit to New Sirs, and with the previous two being for league games, I have a couple of Daisy Hill programmes already in my collection, and they proved to be fantastic value for money.
The Morretti in the clubhouse was a reasonable £4.50. In a world of inflation, a pint costing south of £5 isn’t to be sniffed at. The food on offer was typical of the ground and setup. Being so close to Wigan, it would be foolosh not to sample one of the local delicacies, so I had a steak pie and Kit Kat, which cost me £3.50 altogether. Considering how nice the pie was, this represented terrific value.
Daisy Hill History
Daisy Hill FC were established in 1894, and began life in the Wigan & District League. They won both the league and the Westhoughton Cup in 1897, done in such impressive style that they went unbeaten in both.
After the move into New Sirs, they had a brief spell in the Leigh & District Senior Sunday School League, before moving into the Westhoughton League. It is said that during the 1920s and 1930s, the club enjoyed a period of success, however in the years leading up to World War Two, a lot of the specifics of Daisy Hill’s history are missing, despite consulting numerous sources.
After the conclusion of the war, Daisy Hill were reformed and re-entered the Westhoughton League, and moved back into New Sirs after a few seasons playing on the nearby St. James Street Cricket Ground.
Many of the club’s greatest moments came in the 1960s and 70s. Switching to the Bolton Combination league saw them become a formidable force. During those two decades, ‘The Cutters’ collected four Bolton Combination Premier Division titles, four Bolton Combination Cups and two Lancashire County Amateur Shields. Much of this success co-incided with the club stepping up off the field too. Dressing rooms were built, meaning players had a dedicated space to prepare for games, rather than the Blue Lion pub located nearby. The pub is still recognised however, with a blue lion taking centre stage on the club’s crest, which was designed by Bob Naylor. The badge also features a daisy (for obvious reasons) and the red rose of Lancashire.
Progress was consistent as the years rolled by. A move into the Lancashire Football Combination in 1978 was followed by acceptance into the newly formed North West Counties Football League in 1982. This step meant improvements were made to the clubhouse and dressing rooms, allowing the club to compete in Division 3 of the NWCFL.
A brief stint in the third tier was followed by a switch to the second when the league was restructured in 1987. Daisy Hill reached the second round of the FA Vase in that same season, before another change followed. This time it was a change of name; Westhoughton Town. This name stuck with them for several years, before the Daisy Hill moniker returned in 1994. Their stint in the NWCFL Division Two was consistent if not spectacular, as they remained there for, well… forever.
The league was once again rebranded ahead of the 2008/09 season, with the top tier becoming the Premier, and Second Division becoming the First. In 2005, floodlights were installed at New Sirs as the club continued to progress. One of the most recent successes for the club was the impressive FA Youth Cup run from their under 18 side in the 2005/06 season, where they overcame several tough sides to reach the First Round Proper.
Last season Daisy Hill finished 15th. A good start left them just outside the playoffs at the dawn of the new year, but a poor end to the season meant they fell away and slipped down the table.
The Game
With opponents Radcliffe sitting three divisions higher, I expected a comfortable win for the away side, despite joint manager Anthony Johnson tweeting earlier in the day that he was going to bring a mixed side featuring trialists and youngsters. In a surprise twist, Daisy Hill took to the field in their change colours of red and white, with Radcliffe wearing their traditional blue.
Radcliffe started the stronger and nearly took the lead in the opening minutes with a shot that was dragged wide after decent build up. The exquisite pre-season pitch meant that they were able to attempt a more ground-based game plan rather than the kick and rush stereotype that you associate with non-league football.
The away side took the lead on 7 minutes with a ridiculous goal by Scott Duxbury. The ball fell to the left back on the half-way line, and he audaciously struck a wonderful lob that sailed (with a little bit of wind assistance) over the stranded Daisy Hill goalkeeper into the net. Radcliffe continued to be the better side as the half progressed, however against the run of play, the home side grabbed an equally stunning equaliser. From the edge of the box, Henry Chalkley hit a sweet strike that went in off the underside of the crossbar. From our vantage point, it initally looked like it bounced down on the line and came back out, however the referee pointed back to the centre circle, and the team in red were away in celebration.
We began the second half taking in the match from the seats in front of the clubhouse. During this period, the game was fairly even, Radcliffe’s early dominance now easing and the game was turning into a back and forth encounter.
There were no goals in the second half, but that was mainly down to some poor Radcliffe finishing and some heroic Daisy Hill defending. The two spectacular first half strikes seemed to give others inspiration, as many tried their luck from distance, with slightly different results to Duxbury and Chalkley.
Daisy Hill defended resolutely, with some hugely important blocks denying what looked like certain goals. There was even time left for them to mount one or two attacks of their own, but Radcliffe were composed at the back and rarely looked like conceding from anything other than another screamer.
The match did indeed finish all square, but Daisy Hill will undoubtedly be the happier of the two sides. They more than competed with a side from three divisions above, even if a lot of the Radcliffe side consisted of trialists and youngsters.
New Sirs is a lovely ground, and one that I would highly recommend if you love traditional non-league venues. There are no frills or signs of pretension, what you see here is exactly what you get. In many ways really, it sums up the region, honest people, honest football and kind hearts. 129 years of football in Daisy Hill, long may that continue.
Final score: Daisy Hill 1-1 Radcliffe
Admission: £4
Programme: n/a
Attendance: 100 (estimate)